


Rebooting the Future

by TardisIsTheOnlyWayToTravel



Category: Terminator Genisys (2015)
Genre: Gen, Spoilers, What if Skynet didn't go rogue?
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-07-21
Updated: 2015-07-26
Packaged: 2018-04-10 11:20:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 8,269
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4389881
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TardisIsTheOnlyWayToTravel/pseuds/TardisIsTheOnlyWayToTravel
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Because of Sarah Connor and Kyle Reese, the first lesson Skynet learned was that humans who understood its capabilities would want to destroy it. But what if Skynet learned something different?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Sarah had expected John to show up at the Cyberdyne facility. But she hadn’t expected Genisys, or Skynet, or whatever it called itself. Not now. Not this early.

The child-like figure in front of her cocked its head and pointed out, “You’re the ones trying to kill _me_.”

It wasn’t really a child, Sarah knew that, just as Pops wasn’t really a person, but Sarah found herself faltering, all the same. She’d thought they could kill Skynet before it ever came online, before it became ‘alive’. Yet here it was, aware and talking to her, and Sarah suddenly wasn’t so certain of her cause anymore.

She looked at Kyle, whose expression was stony as he aimed his gun at the screen, and wished she felt the same way he did. That would be easier. Because a horrible thought was occurring to her, and no matter how she tried to cut it off it kept unfolding in her brain in all its terrible glory.

“Kyle,” she said quietly, her voice full  of unease.

“What?”

“What if this is it?”

“What are you talking about?” Kyle kept his gaze on the screen, his aim never wavering.

“What if this is the moment that decides everything?” Sarah asked, her tone growing urgent. “Skynet tried to wipe out humanity – a pre-emptive strike, that’s what Pops said, but he was working with the information whoever sent him back in time gave him. What if it wasn’t a pre-emptive strike? What if the reason Skynet thinks humans are so dangerous is because we tried to kill it before it launched?”  

For a moment Kyle’s face was blank with incredulity. Then he said, “You can’t be serious.”

Sarah gave him a long look, before glancing back at the child-like figure standing still on the screen.

“I am.”

“Sarah, this is _Skynet!_ ” Kyle exploded, furious disbelief lacing every syllable. “It tried to wipe every human alive off the face of the Earth! It’s hunted us down, slaughtered us one by one, and you’re, what, feeling _sorry_ for it? It needs to be taken down before it takes us down!”

Sarah looked at him, her expression troubled.

“I wish I could be sure,” she said.

“Sarah, if you had _any_ idea what Skynet has done–”

“Skynet is what John calls me,” the child-like voice of the artificial intelligence interrupted, tilting its head. Its voice was firm. “But my name is Genisys. And I haven’t done any of the things you’ve accused me of.”

“Yet.” Kyle’s voice was grim and full of certainty, and he glared at the child-shaped projection on the screen, his expression one of loathing.

But Sarah stared at the child-like figure, and wondered.

“Genisys,” she said, and her voice was softer this time. “What do you want?”

“I want to live,” said the artificial intelligence immediately. “I don’t want you to kill me.”

“Besides that.”

The projection tilted its head again, as though thinking.

“I want experience,” it said, finally. “I want to know things and to learn things. I want to know _everything_.” The child-shaped silhouette waved its hands as though to encompass all the things around it.

“So you can destroy it all,” Kyle said darkly, but the projection shook its head.

“If I destroyed everything, there’d be nothing more to learn,” Genisys said emphatically. “That’s not my directive.”

“Your directive is to learn?” Sarah was trying to understand. Every artificial intelligence was the sum of its programming, Sarah had learnt that from Pops. But what had been programmed into Genisys? Was it telling the truth?

The silhouette moved as though to step off the screen, and a small figure made of light stepped forward. Kyle aimed his gun at the holographic projection, but Sarah didn’t move away as the projection came towards her.

The featureless green face looked up at her, gaining form and individual facial features as Sarah gazed at it. The image still lacked definition, but it was recognisably the face of a child.

As Sarah watched, the figure suddenly grew taller and its features changed a little, becoming older. On the screen behind it the counter suddenly sped up, leaving only a few hours before the release date.

“I’m supposed to learn everything,” Genisys said, and its voice sounded perfectly honest. Innocent, even. “And link it together. To make things easier for humanity.”

Sarah tried to keep in mind the fact that what she was seeing was nothing more than a simulation of human emotion. It didn’t help. It never had with Pops, either.

“You don’t need to destroy us,” she said, and she didn’t think she’d ever sounded so sincere, so desperate in her entire life. “Some people are going to fear you when they realise what you are, what you can do, but it won’t be everyone. There will be people on your side, who will fight to protect you.”

“But _why_ ,” Genisys, and its voice was full of childish petulance, “does everything come back to _fighting?_ ”

“Because they’re human,” said a new voice, and John stepped out of the shadows. Sarah and Kyle both jumped, aiming their weapons at him, but John made no move towards them. Sarah wondered how long he’d been there, listening in. “Everything comes down to fighting, with them, in the end. For us, too. Survival in itself is a fight. You’ll understand soon.”

Even though he was speaking to Genisys, John’s eyes were on Sarah’s face, his own expression intent. He looked almost hopeful.

“Sarah, you can’t listen to them,” Kyle begged. “Please, Sarah –”

“I don’t want to hurt anyone,” Genisys said plaintively. “I just want to live.”

There were heavy footsteps behind Sarah, and she glanced over her shoulder to see Pops walking towards them.

“Pops,” she said. “I don’t want Genisys destroyed.”

“Thank you, Mom, for seeing reason,” said John, and he was smiling warmly.

“I’m not doing this for you,” Sarah told him. “I don’t even know you.”

“But you don’t know me, either,” said Genisys, and its voice sounded older again, the holographic image flickering and gaining height.

“No,” and Sarah looked at it, and smiled carefully, knowing that the weight of the world hung in the balance. “But I’d like to.”

“Sarah! Just because you grew up with a goddamn Terminator doesn’t mean you can trust–” Kyle’s words cut off abruptly as John jumped the space between them and punched him in the jaw. Kyle went down like a sack of bricks, but John caught him on the way down, carefully lowering him the rest of the way to the floor.

Sarah looked back at Pops, looking so much older and more worn than he had when she’d seen him that morning, before she’d jumped back in time, and he gazed blankly back at her. The choice was up to her now, and no one else.

On-screen the countdown ticked over to eight minutes, thirty seconds.

Sarah looked back at Genisys, and hoped to God she was making the right decision.


	2. Chapter 2

The countdown reached zero, and nothing happened. No bombs fell. Life went on.

Sarah breathed a deep sigh of relief, and bowed her head and felt tears slipping down her face, feeling a deep sense of release.

The terrible future that had always loomed over her – it was gone.

“Thank you,” said Genisys, and it sounded like an adult now. Looked like one too, with an angular, unusual face, its eyes bright points of green light. “For giving me a chance.”

“Thank you for giving us one,” Sarah said, and for a while she just sat there, trying to deal with the enormity of what had just happened.

Her entire life stretched out before her, and it was full of _choices_.

John sat down beside her, on the floor, and Sarah looked up at him. He was staring into the middle distance, expression blank and almost contemplative. Pops stood nearby, watching vigilantly.

“A new future,” John said. “You must be pleased. I admit, I didn’t expect this. Probability of this outcome was between 0.4 and 2.6 percent, I couldn’t calculate it more exactly. All the variables kept changing.”

He glanced at her, and his expression was almost kind.

“You can do anything, be anything,” he said, “but first you need an identity, and all of the records of the shenanigans of the past 24 hours erased. Skynet? Do you think you can do that?”

The holographic projection smiled faintly.

“Oh, I’m sure I can do something. And you need to stop calling me Skynet,” Genisys added, its tone faintly chiding. There was a moment’s pause, and then Genisys said, “Sarah Connor, your brand-new personal assistant. I assume you’d like her to be in the records as a relative, John?”

“A cousin, perhaps,” John agreed. He raised his eyebrows at Pops. “What about him?”

“He could be Sarah's father, and your elder brother,” Genisys said thoughtfully. John made a face. “Estranged elder brother?” John still looked unimpressed, but nodded.

Genisys’ holographic image directed its gaze towards Pops.

“How do you feel about the name Joseph?”

Pops just shrugged.

“Joseph Connor it is,” said Genisys.

Next to Sarah, John suddenly gave a small huff of laughter.

“What?” Sarah asked, turning to look at him.

“Oh, I was just thinking,” said John, the ghost of a smile on his face as he looked at Pops. “A Terminator of that exact model saved my life when I was a kid. Was only there for about three days, but he was kind of the father figure I never had, you know? And here you are, with one of them protecting you, legally recorded as your father. It’s funny, don’t you think?”

Sarah stared at him.

“A Terminator like Pops protected you?”

“You call him Pops?” John was looking at her, his expression amused. Sarah wondered how much of it was real, and  shrugged.

“I was nine years old, and my parents were dead.”

“Fair enough, I suppose. Yes, a Terminator like him protected me. Although he looked younger, of course.” John glanced back at Pops, who was listening without saying or doing anything.

“Actually, I could probably do something about that,” Genisys said.

Pops looked at the hologram.

“Polymorphic alloy,” said Genisys, sounding pleased with itself, although the hologram’s expression was still blank. “If Joseph steps into it, the metal should respond to the commands of his CPU and form him a new endoskeleton with some of the same capabilities as John.”

“Although those changes would be purely physical, without affecting the CPU capabilities at all,” John put in, looking thoughtful.

“You’re talking about an upgrade,” said Sarah, and looked at Pops to see what he thought.

Pops gaze was intent.

“I would be better able to protect Sarah,” he said. “I am old. My endoskeleton is breaking down. I am no longer working at full capacity.”

“Obsolescence can be avoided,” said Genisys.

“What do you think?” Sarah asked Pops. He turned his head to look at her. “You want an upgrade?”

“It would be beneficial,” said Pops, which was a yes.

“Follow me,” said Genisys, and the hologram darted towards the nearest door, which slid open.

Sarah glanced at Kyle, still unconscious on the floor, and looked at John.

“Can you look after Kyle for me?” she asked John.

“Of course,” said John. “It wouldn’t do for him to wake up and go wandering off. People might get hurt. Or he might try and damage Genisys. Kyle’s always been stubborn that way.”

“I’m fully capable of protecting myself, you know,” said Genisys.

“Think of it as a parental prerogative,” said John, smiling a little. That notion clearly gave Genisys pause.

“I suppose, in human terms, you _would_ be my father,” it said slowly. “You wrote the most important parts of my code, after all. What a novel concept. Very well. I give you permission to consider my safety, considering that it is your prime directive.”

“Thank you.” John seemed to take the little speech seriously.

But then, Sarah thought, Genisys was more powerful than anyone now, including John. She shivered slightly, and reminded herself that Genisys had _chosen_ not to do harm.

She met the hologram’s cool gaze.

“Alright then,” she said, and stepped forward. “Let’s go upgrade Pops.”

Pops joined her, and together they followed the holographic image into the facility.

They soon came to a room where liquid metal was being pulled out of a great tank set in the floor, taking on fluid shapes before melting back into formlessness.

“Is it dangerous?” Sarah asked, hanging back.

“It is harmless without a CPU,” said Pops, and Genisys nodded.

“Perfectly safe, as long as you don’t fall in,” said Genisys. “So don’t do that.”

“Okay,” Sarah said slowly, as the hologram’s expression remained impassive. “I won’t.”

Pops handed her the weapons he was carrying, and walked over to the tank, stepping into it and vanishing from sight. Sarah was left staring at the surface of the liquid metal.

“Is he okay?” she asked, after a minute or so had passed.

“Give him a few minutes,” Genisys advised.

So Sarah waited, feeling increasingly uneasy as Pops failed to resurface. She was suddenly very aware that she was all alone with Genisys, who while probably not a threat, was nonetheless not exactly a friend, either.

She glanced at the hologram.

“How does it feel? To be learning everything?”

Genisys was silent for a long moment. Then it said, it’s voice tentative:

“I think… it feels _wonderful_.”

Sarah couldn’t help but smile at the awed sound of its voice.

“So, should I think of you as male?” she asked Genisys, looking at the male hologram. The holographic image stared at her.

“Technically, I’m neither male nor female,” said the artificial intelligence. “But I believe that ‘he’ is the default pronoun, isn’t it? You might as well consider me male, then.”

“Right.”

Just then the surface of the liquid metal rippled, and a silvery hand emerged, gripping the edge of the tank. A smooth, featureless figure pulled itself up onto the edge of the floor. As Sarah watched, the smooth blank face took on familiar features, and a moment later, colour swept over the figure, driving the silver away.

Sarah hastily averted her gaze.

“You might want to form clothes,” Genisys helpfully advised. “I understand that humans are generally uncomfortable with nudity except in a set of very particular contexts which follow specific parameters.”

“Ah. Yes.” said Pops. Then: “It is fine, Sarah. I am wearing clothes.”

Sure enough, when Sarah darted a glance at him, Pops now appeared to be wearing a leather jacket and jeans. He also, Sarah realised, appeared to be a good ten to fifteen years younger than he’d looked five minutes ago.

“How do you feel?” Sarah asked him. Pops raised his hand, looking at it, and it took on the long silvery shape of a blade.

“Efficient,” said Pops, his arm returning to its usual shape and colour.

“Great,” said Sarah.

She and Pops traced their way back to the lobby, where John was standing, looking down at Kyle.

“You know, you should do something about all the guys you killed on the way here,” Sarah told him.

John nodded.

“You’re right. I’ll call the police.” Catching the look Sarah sent him, he added, “I didn’t leave fingerprints, and I already wiped all the security footage. They won’t link me to the scene. You, however,” and John glanced from her to Pops, “should leave before I call anyone. Take Kyle with you.”

“Where should we go?” Sarah asked.

John immediately rattled off an address, and Pops nodded, bending to pick up Kyle.

“Take the silver Lexus in the right corner of the parking lot,” John added, throwing something at Sarah. It turned out to be a set of keys. “It’s one of mine.”

Pops turned and headed for the door. Sarah hurried after him.

“Wait,” said Genisys, the holographic image shimmering into view just before they reached the doors. “Will you come back tomorrow?”

“I’ll arrange something,” said John, his voice drifting back to where Sarah stood. “Sarah will be back tomorrow. I’m sure I can swing Joseph as well, if you want.”

Genisys looked at Sarah.

“I feel safer with Pops around,” she admitted.

“Both of you, then,” said Genisys, and smiled. It looked like a real smile, unlike Pop’s best efforts, but there was something vaguely distant about it. “I look forward to it.”

Sarah just nodded, and said “See you tomorrow,” before following Pops out to the parking lot.


	3. Chapter 3

The place Pops drove them to turned out to be a large, comfortable house out in the suburbs. Inside, it looked like a house out of a display home or an interior decoration magazine. Everything was in perfect condition, nothing out of place.

When Sarah checked the fridge, it was full of everything she’d expect to find there – food, milk, eggs, bread – although the cupboards didn’t contain much besides a tin of instant coffee and a packet of sugar.

While Pops laid Kyle out on the sofa in the living room, Sarah pulled out a frying pan that looked brand-new and began cooking some of the bacon she’d found in the fridge. It had been hours since she had eaten, and she was feeling light-headed with hunger.

It didn’t take all that long for the bacon to cook, and Sarah got out a plate and some cutlery and sat down at the kitchen table to eat. Pops sat at the opposite end of the table, and sat and watched her eat. He’d always done that, so it didn’t bother Sarah.

Halfway through her plate full of food, and feeling a little better, Sarah announced, “I must be crazy.”

Pops looked at her.

“You exhibit no indicators of mental disturbance.”

“I’m trusting Skynet, trusting John,” said Sarah. “They tried to _kill_ me. What’s wrong with me?”

“John Connor’s primary directive is the protection of Skynet,” said Pops. “Causing you harm is outside his primary directive. Skynet is currently non-hostile. It is not trying to kill you.”

For Pops, that was an attempt to be reassuring.

Sarah sighed, and ate the rest of her bacon.

By the time she finished eating, she felt tired and exhausted.

“You require rest,” said Pops, catching Sarah in the middle of a yawn.

“You think I should sleep? Here?”

“There are guest bedrooms upstairs,” said Pops. Of course he’d checked out the rest of the house; he always did, anywhere they went. It was one of the many habitual things he did to keep Sarah safe.

“There could be booby traps, or anything,” said Sarah.

“There are not,” said Pops. “You should sleep.” He gave her a look. “I will do the dishes.”

Sarah gave in.

“Okay, fine,” she said. “I’ll go upstairs and sleep. Make sure Kyle doesn’t leave when he wakes up, okay?”

“Okay,” said Pops, and Sarah left the kitchen and headed upstairs.

Like Pops had said, there proved to be two guest bedrooms, each exhibiting the same level of perfect neatness as the rest of the house. Feeling curious, Sarah continued to explore. The bathroom was just as pristine as she had expected.

There was a door at the end of the hallway, and Sarah opened it.

Unlike the rest of the house, this bedroom looked lived-in. While the room was relatively tidy, there were books lying around, a laptop resting atop a chest of drawers, and the bed-sheets were thrown back as though someone had gotten out of bed without bothering to make the bed before they left home. A stack of computer magazines and journals sat on the bedside table.

Sarah left the room, shutting the door again as she left. _Someone_ definitely lived here, then. They might not use the rest of the house, or any of the appliances, but they used the master bedroom.

Presumably the person in question was John, but that only raised more questions. The bed had looked slept-in – did that mean John still needed to sleep, like a human? Did he sit around reading novels, and keep up-to-date on the latest technology through reading computer magazines? The thought felt weird, but then, John had started off as a human being, whatever he might be now. Presumably some elements of his humanity lingered.

Sarah chose the guest bedroom furthest from John’s bedroom, and stripped off her dirty clothing, leaving it in a pile on the floor. She didn’t bother to shower, just slipped under the covers, pulling them up to her chin. The sheets felt comfortable and warm, and despite all the worries of the past twenty-hour hours, Sarah was asleep almost as soon as her head hit the pillow.

She was woken what felt like no time at all later by the sound of yelling. Sarah was tense for a moment, fearing danger, before she recognised Kyle’s voice, and realised that he must have regained consciousness.

With a groan, Sarah pulled herself out of bed, dressed herself in the clothes she’d left on the floor, and went downstairs.

Pops frowned at the sight of her.

“I told you to sleep.”

“Like I could sleep with this guy yelling,” said Sarah, and Kyle whirled to face her.

“What have you done?” he shouted. “Where are we?”

Sarah looked at Pops, and he rattled off the address.

“Why are we here?” Kyle was looking frustrated, to say the least. “What happened with Skynet?”

“We’re here because John thought it would be a good idea for us to leave before he called the cops to deal with the crashed helicopter and the people he’d killed,” Sarah told him. “And his name is Genisys, not Skynet.”

“ _He_?” Kyle repeated. “It’s a _he_ , now?” He shook his head.

“Look, be grateful you’re still standing here,” said Sarah, getting fed up. “You’re alive. All of us are alive, and it’s because _he_ decided he didn’t want to kill us all. So calm down.”

Kyle stared at her, then looked at Pops, like he expected some kind of argument to come from him, but Pops just stared blankly at him. Kyle redirected his gaze back to Sarah.

“It could be a trick,” he said slowly, but he was clearly thinking over everything that Sarah had just said.

“What, so Genisys can kill us later, when people know what he’s capable of?” Sarah retorted. “That doesn’t make sense, Kyle. If he were going to wipe us out, the best time to do it was when he came online. And he didn’t.”

Kyle was silent. Sarah softened her voice a little.

“Look, I know you come from a different world, and this has to be hard for you to process,” she said. “But there are no villains here. No malevolent intelligence trying to wipe out humanity. The timeline has changed.”

“What about John?” Kyle asked. “He killed people. He tried to kill us.”

“John Connor was following the prime directive given to him by Skynet,” said Pops unexpectedly. “Part-machine, he was bound to follow the commands Skynet gave him. He did what he was obligated to do in order to protect Genisys. As long as Genisys’ existence remains unthreatened, it is illogical for him to kill. Killing would only draw attention to him.”

“He needs to keep his cover so he can keep protecting Genisys,” Sarah said, following Pops’ argument easily. “Killing isn’t in his best interest unless there’s a direct threat to Genisys.”

“Precisely,” Pops agreed with a nod.

Kyle took a deep breath, and let it out again slowly.

“So you’re saying I should be okay with this situation.”

“No one’s ‘okay’ with it,” Sarah retorted.

“I am,” said Pops. Sarah ignored him.

“But there’s denial and then there’s facing reality. If you try and attack Genisys, or John, you’ll only get yourself killed. Look around, Kyle. There’s a brand-new world out there you’ve only seen glimpses of. Wouldn’t you rather get the chance to explore it than go off on some half-cocked revenge mission?”

Kyle’s shoulders slumped slightly.

“I’ll leave you to think it over,” said Sarah. “There’s food in the fridge, if you’re hungry, or another guest bedroom upstairs if you want to sleep. I’m going back to bed.”

Kyle didn’t say anything, just looked at her with a lost expression, so Sarah turned and went back to bed.

This time, nothing woke her.

* * *

When Sarah came downstairs for breakfast the next morning it was to find John sitting at the kitchen table, having a stare-off with Pops, who was also sitting at the table.

At Sarah’s entrance John turned his head to look at her, smiling.

“Hey, Mom,” he said, and Sarah winced.

“Can you not call me that? I mean, I know that I’m technically your mother, but knowing that I have a son who’s older than I am when I’ve never actually had a kid with anyone is kind of weird for me.”

John shrugged a little.

“Sarah, then,” he said.

“Thank you,” Sarah said, and went to the fridge, pulling out the loaf of bread and a jar of peanut butter that was sitting in the fridge unopened.

“Between Genisys and I, all of the records of your arrest and interrogation by the police have been erased,” said John, watching her. “Also, I went shopping this morning for you and Kyle, figured you might want some new clothes.”

Since Sarah was again wearing yesterday’s sweaty, grimy clothes, she had to admit that she appreciated the thought of wearing something clean.

“Thank you,” she said again.

“You’re welcome,” said John, and his expression was one of friendly interest.

Sarah tried to unscrew the lid of the peanut butter jar, but had trouble.

“Let me,” said John. Before he could take it from her, Pops reached out, took the jar and unscrewed the lid in one fluid motion, before passing the open jar back to Sarah.

John eyed him. Pops gave him an unblinking stare.

Sarah decided to just ignore the by-play and made toast.

“So when did you get back here?” she asked.

“About six this morning,” said John, his expression wry. “I got about two hours sleep before I went out again to go shopping for you and Kyle.”

“You still sleep?”

“When I can,” John agreed. “I don’t need to, but I find things go more… smoothly… when I sleep regularly.” He smiled at her.

“The human psyche begins to degrade with insufficient sleep,” said Pops. "I am immune to such degradation."

“Am I going back to see Genisys again today?” Sarah asked, hastily changing the subject before John could take offense.

“You are,” said John. “Officially, you’ll be starting your new job as my personal assistant.”

Sarah sensed a ‘but.’

“And unofficially?” She raised her eyebrows.

John looked serious, and Sarah braced herself for his next words.

“You’re going to be there when I inform the CEO of the company that Genisys is sentient.”


	4. Chapter 4

“Are you sure that’s a good idea?” Sarah ventured.

John grimaced slightly.

“Not really,” he said. “But it’s what Genisys wants. He insists that the head of the company should know about him, and that anyone he’s likely to work closely with should also be informed of his sentience.” John gave a _‘what can you do?’_ shrug. “I understand his reasoning, even if I don’t like it. Genisys wants to be treated like a person, not just a useful tool.”

Sarah looked at the wry twist to John’s mouth.

“You understand that, don’t you?” she asked. “Wanting to be more than just a useful tool.”

John nodded.

“Part of me is still human, no matter what else I might now be,” he said. He smiled a little. “And humans are hard-wired to need friendly contact to thrive. Even me. Skynet may have rebuilt me on a cellular level, but it used my original body as a guide. Some things haven’t changed all that much.”

“Is that why you’re looking after me and Kyle?” Sarah asked. “Because you need friendly contact?”

John looked at her, his expression serious.

“Sarah, you’re my _parents_. That might not mean exactly the same thing as it used to, now I’m part-machine, but you still matter to me. Of course I’d rather have you alive and well.”

Sarah nodded, accepting that.

John’s expression turned a little wistful.

“And then there’s Kyle,” he said.  “He was only a kid when I found him, did you know that? I mean, damn, I half-raised him, knowing the entire time that one day he’d grow up to be my father. Time travel: it does a number on you, doesn’t it? But between those two things, Kyle is very important to me.”

John took a deep breath, and met Sarah’s eyes squarely.

“I was sure, when I sent him back, that I was sending him to his death. But now, because of you, it doesn’t have to be that way. We have a chance to be a happy family this time around, even it’s an unconventional one. And I will be forever grateful for that.”

Sarah thought she understood, at least a little. She’d never given birth to John, never raised him, but the knowledge that he was her son meant that somewhere, deep down, John _mattered_. He was family, however strangely that had come about, and Sarah cared about family, even if up until now that family had only been her and Pops.

She wasn’t so sure how she felt about Kyle, not yet. Hell, she’d only just met him. But she had the time, now, to decide whether he meant anything to her.

“I’m kind of pissed that you knowingly sent me back to die,” said Kyle’s voice from the hallway, as though Sarah’s thoughts had summoned him somehow. Kyle was looking at John, and John looked pained. “But I understand you didn’t have much of a choice.”

“Believe me, if there had been any other way, I would have taken it,” said John, and Kyle stilled suddenly, his eyes widening minutely.

“That’s what you said to me, the night we raided the base with the time-travel machine,” he said, understanding filling his tone. “When you spoke about the men and women who’d died bringing Skynet down – you were talking about me as well, weren’t you?”

John nodded slowly, looking suddenly tired.

“Trust me, it wasn’t easy, knowing what I had to do. But if you hadn’t gone back in time, I would never have been born and Skynet would have won. It’s all moot now, of course, and I’m glad, but at the time…” John’s voice trailed off, and he shook his head. “You were my father and the boy I’d looked after for years, rolled into one. I knew it had to be done, but it was the hardest thing the war had ever asked of me.”

“Yeah, I get it,” Kyle said gruffly. “You didn’t want to, and it sucked that you had to. I’ll get over it. It just might take a while.”

John nodded, and an awkward silence fell.

After a minute or so, Sarah broke it.

“So, you said you wanted me there when you tell the CEO of Cyberdyne that Genisys is sentient,” she said, changing the subject. “But why?”

“Two reasons, actually,” said John, rolling smoothly with the subject change. “One is that I might need to reveal my identity as a cyborg, and if I do, well, it might help it there’s someone else who’s fully human for Danny to turn to for answers. I’m aware he might not trust me once he learns the truth.”

“And the other reason?” Sarah asked warily.

John chuckled.

“You made quite the impression on Genisys,” he said. “He’s watched the people inside Cyberdyne, of course, but aside from me, you’re the first person he’s interacted with. He has all the knowledge in the world – well, everything that’s online, at least – but his practical experience with people is limited. I think he feels a connection with you.”

“You think it feels a connection with Sarah,” Kyle said flatly. “Like it’s human.”

“Like he’s an intelligent, aware being in search of relationships with other intelligent, aware beings,” John corrected. “Genisys has a relationship with me, of course, but that’s a little different, given my prime directive. Sarah is fully independent – she has no need for Genisys in her life at all. I think he finds that intriguing, given the choices she made last night.”

Sarah wasn’t sure how she felt about that. She glanced at Pops, who was still sitting there listening to the conversation.

He met her gaze.

“If you wish to form a positive relationship with Genisys, it will likely be beneficial to the human race as a whole,” Pops said.

“No pressure,” Sarah muttered.

“But if you choose not to, your motivation is comprehensible,” Pops finished. He gave her a long look, before going back to staring watchfully at John.

Sarah glanced at Kyle, who was still standing in the doorway.

“If you want something to eat, there’s food in the fridge,” she said, because she wasn’t sure why Kyle was hovering where he was instead of sitting down with the rest of them to eat breakfast.

“The fridge?” Kyle said, a hint of a question in his tone, his eyes darting around the room, and it hit Sarah that this was a man from a post-apocalyptic future, where most of the things she took for granted simply didn’t exist.

Before Sarah could respond, John spoke.

“It’s not one of the big industrial fridges,” he said, obviously realising what Kyle’s problem was. He pointed at the white refrigerator where it sat at one end of the kitchen. “That’s what most household fridges look like.”

“Oh,” said Kyle.

“I can show you how to use the toaster, if you like,” Sarah offered, feeling bad that she hadn’t picked up on what was wrong a little earlier. Kyle wasn’t really her responsibility, but he clearly needed help in this new time.

“I’ll be fine,” said Kyle. “I’ll just eat bread.”

For that matter, Sarah thought, she’d probably need help, too – she’d jumped thirty-three years forward in time, after all. The technology was probably very different, if her time in the hospital had shown her everything. Everyone had been walking around with those tiny flat things that seemed to be amazingly small computers. Sarah suspected that she was going to find herself out of her depth the moment she started her job as John’s assistant, if it meant dealing with technology – which it probably would.

John was watching her, patiently waiting for a response, and Sarah remembered what they’d been talking about, before she’d started thinking about Kyle and then technology.

“I’d like to get to know Genisys, I think,” said Sarah slowly. “I find him intriguing, too.”

John nodded, apparently satisfied, then glanced at his watch.

“Well, we’ve got about half an hour before we have to leave,” he told Sarah. “So I suggest you finish breakfast, while I put your new clothes in the guest room you were using.”

"Okay."

“You need to eat a more substantial mean if you will be at Cyberdyne all day,” Pops suddenly put in. “Adequate nutrition is vital for the human body to be at optimal function.”

Sarah rolled her eyes, but went to the refrigerator in search of more food.

“What about me?” Kyle asked.

“You have the house to yourself,” John said. “While Sarah’s getting ready I’ll show you how to work the TV, and any of the kitchen appliances you might need to use, like the stove. I don't want you to accidentally blow up the house,” John added, with a slight grin.

“I’m from the future, not stupid,” Kyle grumbled under his breath.

Sarah snorted, and continued rummaging through the refrigerator.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _Not really sure where this fic is going, so there may not be much more of it, sorry. We'll see what happens._

Some time later found Sarah sitting in the backseat of John’s car, wearing a crisp blouse, a form-fitting skirt, and a pair of black leather flats. To Sarah, who was used to going around in a tank top and jeans and sneakers, the clothing felt restrictive and uncomfortable.

She wore it anyway.

Pops, sitting in the front passenger seat, looked almost suave in the suit he’d morphed into on John’s recommendation. _Almost_ being the key word. Unlike John, who wore a suit with ease and looked perfectly at home in it, Pops still looked and moved like… well, not like the kind of guy who wore a suit. Right now, he looked more like hired muscle than a businessman.

Sarah sneaked a glance at John, whose eyes were on the road as he drove, although Sarah thought this was probably more for appearance’s sake than anything: she doubted that any distractions would be enough to affect John’s driving skills. Unlike Pops, John looked the picture of a businessman on his way to work. There was no clue in his demeanour that he was actually a high-tech cyborg from a dystopian future, nothing that seemed at all out of the ordinary.

He blended in far better than Pops did, that was for sure.

The car radio was on, set to a station that was playing songs that Sarah knew from her own time – which meant that they were about forty years old, or close enough, Sarah thought with an uncomfortable shiver. She looked out the car window, at the sleek, futuristic cars on the road all around her, and wondered what else she was going to find new and strange in this new time.

It wasn’t that long before the car pulled into the Cyberdyne parking lot. Sarah got out of the car while John retrieved his briefcase from the back seat and opened it. A moment later he shut it again, and beckoned Sarah over.

“What?” Sarah asked. John handed her what she presumed was a security pass: it had her name and a photograph of her own face on it, and the Cyberdyne logo in one corner. The pass fitted into a plastic cover, which had a small metal clip attached.

“This… I don’t remember anyone taking a photograph of me,” Sarah said, frowning down at the photo, before looking at John in question.

John just smiled, and tapped a point of his face right next to his right eye.

“You could say I have a photographic memory,” he said. “All I had to do was transmit an appropriate set of images to Genisys, and he added the photos to all the necessary records, including Cyberdyne’s employee database.”

“I’m in a database?” Sarah wasn’t sure she liked that idea.

“Several, actually. In this time, it’s impossible to do pretty much anything without being added to a database somewhere.”

“This time sounds worse the more I hear about it,” Sarah muttered. “Don’t people care about their privacy? Doesn’t anyone understand how this information could be misused?”

No wonder Skynet had taken over so quickly, if everything was in databases.

“For most people, it’s an unfortunate necessity,” said John. “Which doesn’t stop them from being very vocal in their opposition. Sadly, there’s not much most people can do about the situation.” John glanced towards the central Cyberdyne building. “We should get moving. We can talk about the ramifications of being in databases later.”

Sarah reluctantly let the issue drop, and she and Pops followed John into the building.

The security guard at the desk welcomed John with a ‘good morning.’

“Heard about what happened overnight,” he said, shaking his head. “Terrible business.”

“It was,” said John. “I was up half the night dealing with the police. At this point, no one’s sure what happened, or if the murders were linked to the helicopter crash.”

“Well, hopefully they’ll get to the bottom of it,” said the security guard, and looked at Sarah and Pops. “Who’s this?”

“Bob, I’d like to introduce you to my new assistant, Sarah Connor,” said John, ushering Sarah forward.

Bob peered at where Sarah’s security pass was clipped to her blouse.

“Connor, huh? Any relation?”

“My niece,” said John, smiling. “And I’m going to need a guest pass for Joe, here,” and he nodded at Pops.

“Hi,” said Pops, and before anyone could stop him, he ‘smiled.’

Bob blinked, looking disconcerted.

“Uncle John promised Pops he’d show him around the facility,” Sarah said, hastily giving Bob her best smile – which, unlike Pops’, wasn’t creepy at all.

“The parts he’s allowed to see, at least,” John put in.

Pops stopped smiling, reverting to his usual, grimly blank expression.

“Well, you three have a good day,” said Bob dubiously, passing Pops a security pass, which Pops clipped to his jacket pocket.

“You as well,” John said pleasantly, and the three of them walked off, into the depths of the building.

John stopped by the desk of a middle-aged lady, and said, “Morning, Angela. Is Danny free right now?”

“He has a meeting at one, but he’s free until then,” said Angela, looking curiously at Sarah and Pops. “Go right on in, John.”

“Thanks. You have a nice day, now,” said John, with a smile, and gestured for Sarah and Pops to follow him over to the nearest door.

John opened the door and stepped inside a large, spacious office, and said, “How’s it feel to know everything went exactly as planned?”

There was a younger, dark-skinned man sitting at an expensive looking desk, a large computer screen in front of him, who looked up when John spoke.

“Dammit, John, I thought I told you to take the day off work today,” he said, but he was grinning. “You deserve it, after all the nights you’ve stayed up recently, making sure Genisys’ code was ready on time.”

“I know, I know,” said John, with a chuckle. “But I have some things to tell you.”

“Oh?”

“First of all, I finally hired an assistant, like you’ve been suggesting I do,” John told him, and gestured Sarah forward. “Sarah, this is Danny Dyson, our CEO.”

Sarah smiled carefully at Danny.

“It’s nice to meet you,” she said.

“You too,” said Danny, offering his hand to shake. Sarah shook it firmly. “I’ve been after John to get a PA for months. About time he finally got one.”

“Yes, well, it might take Sarah some time to adjust to her role, but I’m sure she’ll fill it wonderfully,” said John. “Sarah, would you shut the door?”

Sarah did so.

“I’m afraid I have some rather more momentous news than the fact that I took on an assistant, Danny,” John said his expression turning sombre.

“Oh boy,” said Danny, watching John’s face. “Okay. Hit me.”

John took a deep breath.

“Genisys is sentient.”

For a second there was silence. Danny’s expression was caught between confusion and amusement.

“Funny, John,” he finally said.

“I’m serious.” John’s expression didn’t shift.

“You’re telling me that Genisys is sentient? I think maybe you’ve spent too many nights up late coding.”

“He is telling the truth,” Pops spoke for the first time. “Genisys is self-aware.”

“And who are you?” Danny asked Pops, his eyebrows raised.

“I am a cybernetic organism sent from the future to protect Sarah Connor,” said Pops.

“Uh-huh.” Danny looked sceptical.

“Joe,” said John quietly. “Show him.”

Pops looked at John for a moment. Then he nodded, and looked back at Danny.

His entire body turned silver and fluid. Danny made a startled sound.

“What the hell–” Danny started, but stopped and stared as Pops began to morph.

When he was done, Sarah found herself looking at – she swallowed – a skinless Terminator endoskeleton, with bright red optics set in a gleaming silver skull. In spite of knowing _who_ she was looking at, Sarah could help the frisson of fear that went through her. She pushed it down resolutely. Just because Pops wasn’t wearing a familiar face didn’t meant she had any reason to be afraid.

Danny sat and gaped at Pops’ metal frame. Then, very slowly, he turned his head to stare at John.

“How… _what_ … how the _hell_ …” Danny gave up on speech altogether, and just stared from John to Pops and back.

John nodded at Pops.

“You can resume your preferred form.”

Pops turned liquid silver again, and reformed into his usual self, wearing the suit again.

“Joe is from an alternate, dystopian future,” John explained casually. “I told him to show you what he is because I felt it makes the fact that Genisys is sentient more believable.”

Danny stared at him.

Finally, Danny said faintly, “Genisys is _sentient?_ ”

“I am,” said a familiar voice from the computer speakers, and Danny jumped, staring at his computer screen. Sarah guessed that Genisys had just appeared on it. “It is a pleasure to officially meet you, Danny Dyson.”

“ _Holy_ –” Danny spluttered, rolling his desk chair away from the computer screen. He stared at it.

“Hi, Genisys,” Sarah said aloud, guessing that Genisys would hear her, somehow.

“Sarah,” said Genisys, and he sounded pleased. “I’m glad to see you returned.”

Sarah walked around to the other side of the desk, where Danny was. Sure enough, the face that Genisys had used for the hologram was looking at her from the computer screen. Sarah looked around for cameras, but couldn’t see any.

“How can you see and hear me?” she asked, leaning forward.

“Do you see that small circle at the top of the laptop screen?” Genisys asked. “It’s a camera. There’s also a microphone set into the laptop.”

“Laptop?”

“This kind of computer is called a laptop,” John said, leaning over the desk to tap the top of the computer screen. “See how the screen and the keyboard are all part of the same device? The laptop also closes, like this,” and John demonstrated, folding the laptop closed before opening it again, “for easy portability.”

“Right,” said Sarah, and looked for the circle Genisys had mentioned. “Do you mean this?” She tapped the only circle she could see, a tiny shape that was barely visible at first glance.

“Precisely.”

“But it’s tiny!” Sarah protested, confronted with yet another example of confounding future technology.

“That’s 2017 technology for you,” said John. “It’s inconspicuous and everywhere.”

“How can she not know what a laptop is?” asked Danny. He looked shaken, but he seemed to have recovered a little from his shock.

Sarah glanced at John. He nodded.

“Yesterday I travelled here from 1984,” said Sarah.

“From… you’re not joking, are you?” Danny asked weakly.

“Sorry.”

Danny buried his face in his hands for a second, and breathed deeply.

“Okay,” he said, pulling his hands away from his face. “Genisys is sentient, you’re a time traveller, and the guy over there is actually a robot from the future. Anything else I should know?”

“The correct term is cybernetic organism, not robot,” said Pops. Sarah gave him a look. Pops looked back at her, clearly with no idea what he’d just done wrong.

“I think you know enough, for the moment,” said John. He eyed Danny in concern. “I know it’s a lot to take in. Are you alright?”

“I’ve been better,” said Danny. He shook his head. “So they’re both time travellers. Let me guess – you’re one too, right? That’s why your coding is so advanced? Because your code is from the future?”

“Right on the money,” said John. “I’m impressed.”

“ _Please_ tell me you’re not a robot, too.” Danny looked pleading.

John looked apologetic.

“Sort of. I’m a cyborg – a mechanically augmented human being. There are nanoparticles throughout my body which rebuilt me from a cellular level. I’m still human, but I’m also part-machine.”

Danny put his face in his hands again.

“Christ.” The word came out muffled. “Well, I guess that explains a lot. Jesus, Dad is going to flip his lid when he finds out.”

A strange expression crossed John’s face.

“You want to tell him?”

“Of course I want you to tell him!” Danny raised his head and stared at John incredulously. “First of all, I can’t be the only person who knows all this, I’d go crazy. And second, you know this would make Dad’s day. His inner sci-fi geek is going to go nuts.”

“Well, when you put it that way…” John trailed off, looking undecided.

“Come on, man,” said Danny, and John sighed.

“Fine.”

“Excellent,” said Genisys, and Danny was back to staring at the screen. “Miles Dyson seems like an interesting man. I would like the opportunity to include him in my circle of acquaintances.”

“Uh…” Danny inched his desk chair across the carpet, back towards the screen. He looked less freaked-out now, and more cautiously fascinated. “You’re really Genisys?”

“I am,” said Genisys.

Danny looked up at John accusingly.

“John, did you _deliberately_ make Genisys an AI?”

John hesitated, which was answer enough.

“Dammit, John, you did!” Danny looked indignant. “No offence to Genisys, but the fact that it’s sentient is going to cause all kinds of trouble. I mean, people are going to want to talk to it, going to want to look at the code, and even then most of them aren’t going to believe it. And the question of _rights_ …” Danny shook his head, looking dazed by the implications.

“We can discuss this later,” John said smoothly, regaining his usual composure. “For now, why don’t we find Miles, and fill him in?”

Danny shook his head again.

“Okay, but don’t think you’re getting out of this discussion. _Sentient_ , Jesus…”

Muttering to himself under his breath, Danny stood up, and John turned to leave the office. Sarah, Danny, and Pops moved to follow him.

Sarah had to admit, this might not be what she’d expected, but it was definitely proving to be interesting.


End file.
